Light to Valhalla (26 page)

Exasperated Charley planted her hands on her hips
.
“Alex, talk to me, what is really going on here?”

“How in the hell am I supposed to know?” he exploded
.
“Christ, Charley, maybe you’re the one I should be questioning.”

“Questioning me?  What do you mean?”

Alex strode forward, each movement slow, menacing
.
“
Perhaps you’re right
.
Maybe this has absolutely nothing to do with me or General Witherspoon.
”
His voice dropped to a dangerous rumble
.
“
There must be some reason those men were hired to murder you
.
Perhaps you’ve
had an affair?
”

Charley gasped aloud too shocked even to respond to such an outrageous accusation
.

“
I
’ve been gone for a long time
.
I
s some jilted lover out to exact revenge
?
”
Murderous suspicion lurked in his gaze
.
“At
least
warn
me if I’m going to have to call some
poor bastard out.”

“How dare you!
”
Charley hauled back and cracked the fla
t of her palm ac
ross his cheek
.
S
he
bit her lip to
keep from crying out
.
Alex did not
so
much as flinch
.
She curled her fingers into a stinging palm
.
“
To think I was planning to apologize this morning
.
To try and make amends
.
If you’ve been gone for a long time it’s no one’s fault or choice but your own
.
How could you
accuse
me
of illicit behavior?
”

“Oh, I don’t know
,
” he spat sarcastically
.
“W
hat p
ossibly could have given me the
idea
you’re some other man’s
chère-amie
?
 
You and Sid seemed awf
ully cozy yesterday morning, and then you
suggested
dissolution
of our marriage
last night
.
Tell me
,
Charles
,
is
my cousin
the reason you wish to be freed from our marriage
?”

“Y
-y
ou think this is about Sidney?”
she spluttered
.
“T
hat
’s
ridiculous
.
I told you yesterday there is nothing between us.
”
S
he met her husband’s gaze with unwavering resolve
.
“I have never been unfaithful to you
, Alex
.
Not once
.”

Alex folded brawny arms across an equally brawny chest
, sending a wave of ripples across the muscular expanse
.
Charley gulped
.
His brow furrowed dark and dangerous over
a piercing glare
.
“
Do you actually expect me
to believe I’m your one and only.”

“
Alex, what are you talking about?  Don’t you remember—
”

“I’m a man of the world, Charley,
and I’m not stupid.”

She bristled
.
“A man of the world
.
So you admit t
o being unfaithful to me?
”

“This isn’t about me.
”
He dropped his arms and took another menacing step forward
, the aura of danger surrounding him more than a little heady
.
“
Apparently this is all about you
.
Men are out to kill you, Charley
.
Tell me the truth now
.
Who or what is this about?  How m
any men might have cause for revenge
?”

Heat rushed down her neck
while
her chest constricted
.
How mortifying
to be accused of infidelity
,
and her accuser had not even denied guilt of the same offense
.
She steeled her spine and held firm
.
“None.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying, Alex
.
I—”

“How can I trust you?”

“Because I
’m a virgin
,”
she blurted
.

Alex
froze,
stunned, expression completely blank.

Blast it all
.
Charley cringed, wanting
nothing more than to shrink into the shadows, suck those words out of the dead space they seemed to be floatin
g in…
and die
.

“You mean…
we
never…
”
He raked a hand through his hair
.
“But I came to your room
…”

She shook her head, nervously averting her gaze
.
“
On our wedding night you came to my
chamber
,
yelled at me and then passed out
, face down on the bed
.
Drunk
.
I
-I
thought you knew.”

Alex slumped against the wall
, and o
ppressive silence pervaded every corner of the room
.

“Say something,” she whispered
.
“Please?”

Alex snapped from his reverie
.
“I have to go.
”
He
shoved off the wall and
stomped into the dressing chamber, slamming the door behind him
.

She flinched, waited a few moments,
and finally
crept to the letter fallen on the floor
.
Tossing one last furtive glance over her shoulder she bent and scooped the note from the
carpet
.

General Witherspoon is in London
.
He is m
eeting with Liverpool tomorrow
.
Will keep
you appraised
.

             
             
—Sid

General Witherspoon again… 
Alex and the other man must have a significant history for Sidney to be keeping tabs on him
.
She quickly arranged the letter back on the floor where it had fallen and positioned herself beside the changing room door.

A few minutes later Alex
blew back through the bed
room
.
Red wool cloyed
to his frame, lending him a daunting,
larger than life
appearance
.
Not once did he glance back toward her
.
At least now she
understood h
is surly behavior
.
He believed she was having an affair with Sidney
.
She shook her head
.
Ridiculous
.
Though it was strangely heartening to know he was jealous
.

*
             
*
             
*

In
dour
spirits
Alex
stomp
ed back down the main stairwell
.
“Never consummated our marriage,” he grumbled under his breath
.
W
hy the hell hadn’
t he remembered such a key detail
? 
Probably because
he’d spent
the entire wedding day hung
over or falling down drunk
.
The crisp heels of his Hessians echoed loudly as he strode briskly through the hall, putting as much distance between himself and the scene of his mortification as possible
.

“Good morning, Alex.
”
Evelyn
flashed a sunny smile
, stee
ring Lord Grayson
into the
dining room
.

He grunted in response, rathe
r rudely avoiding eye contact, and strode briskly into the hall
.
Mentally he berated himself
.
Just once could he behave as anything but a total ass in Charley’s presence? 
He’d left her room last night, found a decanter of brandy and stewed on her proposition to dissolve their marriage until he’d been too jealous—or too drunk—to see straight
.
Then he’d dreamed of her…
the pictures swimming through his head so vivid he’d
believe
d himself back in the field hospital, clinging to the memory of her in the clouds
.
He’d awoken
completely
disoriented to find her soft eyes watching him, a manifestation
of his
dreams
so
utterly haunting even now he couldn’t temper his rampaging emotions
.

He approached the study door and drew a ragged breath before entering the room
.

His gaze instantly fell to Mr. Reilly warming himself beside the fireplace
.
Snow dusted the magistrate’s tattered brown jacket, and water droplets glistened from
the tops o
f his ears
.

“Mr.
Reilly,
to what do I owe
the pleasure of
this visit?”

“
Top of the
mornin
’, milord.
”
The older man bowed respectfully
.
“
A
wounded
man fitting the description
of your John Halverson arrived in town
just
this
very morn
.
Given the sensitive nature of the situation I rode in to collect you myself.
”

“Excellent
.
I’ll ride out straight away to
question
him.
”
Alex turned
to the door
and his gaze tangled with Charley’
s.

All color drained from her face and she swayed against the
dark stained door
frame
.
He
took half a step in her direction, more than ready to
take her in his arms, and wash the fear from her eyes
, but… he hesitated
.
After his accusations of impropriety
s
he’d never welcome his advances
.
Time to leave her
be
.

“Goodbye, Charley.”

On the ride to town t
he cool morning air did little to cool Alex’s
strained
emotions
.
No matter what pressing matter lay at hand
Charley consumed his
thoughts both
waking and sleeping and
he was at a
loss
.
She didn’t trust him, and he had painfully little time to gain her trust
.
To simply be honest with her about Witherspoon, and how he’d come by his sudden change of heart would probably be for the best except that accusations of murder would hardly instill confidence that he was a changed man.

A
s the chimneys of the village came into view A
lex
trained his thoughts to the task before him
.
If the wounded man was indeed John Halverson he’d beat him within a bloody inch of his miserable life, find out who’d hired him to kidnap Charley, and then watch the bastard swing
.
He
reigned in
before the quaint stone cot
tage
, ignoring the gaggle of gawkers cloying to the
snow riddled yard
.